US monitored phones of 35 world leaders: report

Washington: Even as the White House was grappling with allegations that America had tapped the mobile phone of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel new claims have emerged that the US was spying on 35 world leaders.

The phones were monitored after the National Security Agency was given the personal phone numbers of the leaders by another US official, according to a 2006 memo leaked to the Guardian newspaper by former NSA staffer Edward Snowden.

Senior official of key US agencies and departments such as the White House, State Department and Pentagon were encouraged to hand over the contact lists to the intelligence agency in order to facilitate the phone tapping, the Guardian reports.

"We are not going to comment publicly on every specific alleged intelligence activity, and as a matter of policy we have made clear that the United States gathers foreign intelligence of the type gathered by all nations," a White House spokeswoman said, in response.

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Earlier revelations that the NSA had spied on the leaders of Mexico, Brazil and most recently Germany have already caused America significant embarrassment, and prompted Ms Merkel to be openly critical of the US.

The revelations have also complicated delicate negotiations with Germany and other European Union nations over free trade and data sharing agreements.

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Speaking on a panel hosted by a Washington, DC, think tank some hours before the revelations, the former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said it was normal practice for nations to spy upon one another.

“Let me just say this, this is not a surprise to people. Countries spy on each other.”

But she said the revelations by Mr Snowden, now a fugitive in Russia, had nevertheless caused serious harm to America and made its diplomatic efforts far more difficult.

“This is my personal opinion, glorifying Snowden is a mistake, I think that what he has done is a criminal act and it has hurt us very, very badly.”

She shared the stage at the left leaning Center for American Progress with the former Australian prime minister Julia Gillard, who made light of the issue, saying if her phone had been tapped by America while she was leader all they would have heard was praise for Barack Obama.

Among diplomatic and intelligence commentators the reaction has been mixed. Some have highlighted the damage and embarrassment caused, others have noted that espionage between nations, even friendly ones, is standard practice.

“There’s absolutely nothing shocking here at all,” John Schindler, professor at the US Navy War College and, like Snowden, a former National Security Agency analyst, told Discovery news.

“This is what intelligence services are supposed to be doing. The French do the exact same thing. Everyone does this. The NSA is just better at it than many other countries.

“It’s the flipside of modern telecommunications,” Professor Schindler said. “All advanced countries have modern (signals intelligence) capabilities. Those are always directed at foreign countries with which they have economic and political interests.”

But European leaders appear to be unconvinced by the notion that such activity is standard. On Thursday Ms Merkel reiterated her objections and the leaders of Sweden, Austria and Italy made public statements conveying their outrage.

"We want the truth," Italian Premier Enrico Letta told reporters. "It is not in the least bit conceivable that activity of this type could be acceptable."

The Guardian story did not say which leaders had their phone tapped but the documents appear to suggest they were of friendly nations. An earlier report suggest that Australia was protected from US espionage as one of the so-called as part of a spying alliance known as the “Five Eyes”, which are the US, Canada, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand.

The White House has not yet responded to a query from Fairfax as to whether the current of former prime ministers were targeted.